shattered
by thehoundsofjustice
Summary: When devastating news is broken to two boyfriends of three years, their whole world is completely turned upside down. The next year of their lives is perhaps the hardest one they will ever face, but the love they have for each other is like a beautiful rainbow in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm. AU.
1. Prologue

**AN: i decided to write this story because i'm such a sucker for romance in the middle of tragedies. it is complete, though only 11 or so chapters so i will be posting one chapter a day. i hope that you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed writing it. :)**

There was this saying people always said, one Jonathan Good never really understood until later in his life. "It's the calm before the storm." Simple, shouldn't be too hard to decipher, but he never really thought anything was 'calm.' He was always expecting something bad to happen, something to make him step off that ladder of happiness he'd climbed. But this? Nothing could have prepared him for this. Nothing could have prepared him for the kind of storm that rushed into his life with no warning, no indication that it was going to happen. Then again, is any storm really predictable? No, not that rain and thunder kind of storm, but the kind that feels as if a dark cloud is permanently hanging over someone's head, pushing them down every morning that they think is going to be a good day. One that is a constant reminder that the end is inevitable and there's pretty much nothing that person could do to change the course of events. Helpless, virtually worthless other than the comfort they could provide, but then again, does that really help much at all?

They fell in love quickly, quicker than either of them had ever imagined. Jon was working his way through college at a car garage that Colby Lopez's parents owned so they saw each other regularly, though never really spoke. Until one night that Colby came running into the garage crying, wet from getting caught in the thunderstorm. It was late so everyone was gone except for Jonathan who'd agreed to stay and clean up, agreeing to locking up when he was finished. In reality, he planned on staying the night there. It was summer time and his crappy apartment didn't have any air conditioning so he thought he'd spare himself a night of sweating, tossing and turning in his small full sized dingy mattress with a big ass industrial fan keeping him up till late hours of the night. Colby ran in, looking a complete mess, yelling and hoping to speak with his father who'd gone home hours earlier. Jonathan tried to calm the hysterical man down, begging him to tell him why he was cut up, why blood was gushing from his split lip, but he wouldn't talk. Or rather, he couldn't. And for a long, long time, Colby didn't talk about what happened that night and Jonathan didn't push him to.. Mostly because what they did talk about, what did happen ended up turning into a love so raw, so real, so deep between the two men that they knew they'd finally found their soul mate.


	2. The calm

Lips brushed against Colby's shoulders, tracing the muscles carefully, as if Jonathan was trying to remember every inch of his body. If there was something he loved more than anything about the older man, it was how much attention he'd paid to him, in every aspect one could think of. Jon's fingers slid through the black and blond hair as his mouth trailed up to his neck, moaning softly against his skin before nuzzling his nose against Colby's bearded jaw. "Mm.. Marry me.."

Colby's lips spread into a small as he shook his head softly, head leaning back against Jon's shoulder. "No."

"You keep breaking my heart."

"Yet you're still here."

"Because I know one day you'll say yes."

Colby sighed, his fingers rubbing over Jonathan thighs under the water of their bath. "Babe, you know how I feel about marriage. I don't want it to ruin us. I like how we are now. It's so simple, so.. pure."

"So not concrete."

Colby turned slightly, brown eyes looking into Jon's own blue ones. "You know it's concrete. There's no one in the world I'd rather have than you and you've never doubted that before. Don't start now."

"I just want to be able to call you my husband. To show the world how much I love you."

"You don't need to prove it to the world cause you prove it to me every single day, Jonathan." Colby bit his lip in thought, shifting more so that he could look at Jon better. "Why don't we do something that is just for us? Like.. get matching tattoos or something. It's not a marriage, but it's something permanent to let you know that I'm yours and only yours."

Jon hummed softly, leaning his head back against the wall as his hands traveled over Colby's hips. "Tattoos?"

Nodding, Colby leaned forward to capture his lover's lips. "Tattoos. Our date or something around our ring fingers. More permanent than a ring, less hassle than planning a wedding with all that paper work and money being spent."

"And there's nothing I could possibly do to change your mind about marrying me?"

"It's been three years and I'm still saying no, Jon. I doubt there is."

Sighing, he reached a hand up to grab the back of Colby's neck, bringing his head forward and kissing him as deeply and as passionate as he would have if they did actually get married. "Okay then. Tattoos."

"We'll go this weekend."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

Colby smiled as he shifted once again, legs on either side of his lover's lap as he straddled the blond man. Their lips met once again, this time in a slow caress, their tongues darting out and playing with each other, moans passing between them. Jon's hands cupped Colby's ass, pushing him closer as his hips lifted to met his lover's own, their hardened lengths rubbing against each other. Their passion was so undeniable, even three years after that night in the garage, it never died down. Jon never stopped touching Colby as if it was their first time making love, never stopped kissing him as if it was the last time their lips would met. Colby kissed back just as hungrily, hands clawing down Jon's chest as he reached between them to grip the hard shaft and guide it back to his entrance. Jon moaned in response, hips rolling up, the tip of him intruding Colby's tight hole, pushing through the rings of muscle, moaning shakily as the walls squeezed around him desperately. Hands gripped Colby's ass tighter, pulling the thick cheeks apart as he slid himself in deeper and deeper, ignoring the water as he sloshed over the top of the tub, spilling onto the floor. Their lips never parted, kissing through heavy breathing, through mumblings of love and taking huge gusts of air. They made love slowly as the sun rose outside, streaks pouring into the small bathroom window canceling out the candles they'd lit up.

It was moments like these that Jon would remember through the next year of their lives.

Although they wished they could have stayed in the tub all day, the real world was calling the two men and they forced themselves to break through the cocoon they'd created and join society. Jon had his own garage now and he worked a regular 9-5 schedule while Colby was finishing up his last year of graduate school. Their routine was simple: Wake up early, take a shower or bath together, have breakfast, watch the news, kiss each other goodbye before heading off to their respective duties. Colby was always home before Jon, cooking dinner and leaving it heating on low in the oven so the two of them could eat a little later. They'd watch TV, eat, then spend the rest of the night hanging out, talking, watching more TV while eating junk food, or making love. It was simple, it was calm, it was everything the both of them wanted. No, it wasn't a glamorous life, or even social, going out to club and what have you, but it was theirs and they loved every single second of it.

That day, though, something was different. That day, everything changed, though they wouldn't know it did until a few weeks after. Jon came home, greasy as usual, but the house was too settled. There was no smell of food in the air, no movement. He wondered if Colby had gone out to buy dinner instead of cooking and fished his phone out of his pocket, seeing no missed call or text from his. Colby's keys were hung up by the door which meant he hadn't gone anywhere. "Colbs?" He called out, trying not to panic as he usually did. During the first few months they lived together, if Colby wasn't home, Jonathan would freak out thinking his lover had finally gotten tired of him and moved on, left him without so much as a word. Three years later, he knew that was never going to happen. "Colby, baby? Are you here?" Sighing, he took off his coat and hung it up, walking over to the kitchen as he shifted through his phone to call Colby. He heard the younger man's phone going off at the same time that he saw his lover's body thrown on the floor, almost life-less, not moving. "Colby!" Dropping his phone, Jonathan ran over to the two toned man and shook him, slapping his face softly as he tried to wake him up. "Baby? Colby, are you alright? Wake up, baby, come on." Reaching up, he turned on the sink, pouring some water into his hand then splashing it onto his lover's face.

Finally, after a few splashes, Colby woke up, gasping for air and he reached out to Jon and clung to him almost desperately. "Jonathan?"

"Babe? Are you okay? God, I was so fucking scared.."

"I'm okay.. I'm sorry. I'm fine." Colby frowned and looked around as if he was trying to remember where he was. "I'm okay.."

Though he wanted to ask questions, Jon didn't want to overwhelm his lover so he let it go for now, helping Colby to his feet as he wiped the water from his face with a kitchen towel. "I'll order something for dinner. You should go lay down."

"Baby, I'm okay, really. I must have just fainted."

"I understand that, but some time in bed would do you some good. Don't argue with me, you know it won't get you anywhere."

Colby sighed but didn't protest as Jon took him over to the bedroom and undressed him before putting him into bed, kissing him softly. Jon didn't want to make a big deal out of it. People fainted all the time, right? And Colby really did seem fine so why stress out? They thought the worst was over when in reality that was just the beginning.


	3. Before

"Jonathan, stop." Colby chuckled as Jon climbed onto the bed and crawled over to him, nuzzling against his legs as he did so. "You're distracting me."  
"Good. You work too damn hard."

Sighing, Colby took off his reading glasses as he leaned his head back against the back board, biting his lip at the older man. "You want me to fail, don't you?"

"No.. I want you to let yourself have a little bit of fun instead of writing your whatever all night long."

"My dissertation. And in case you forever, it's pretty important that I get this done in order to get my degree."

Jon mocked him quietly, rolling his eyes before mumbling softly. "Still, you could take a break."

"I'll take a break when I finish and turn it in two days from now."

Finally giving up, Jon rolled onto his bed and sighed softly, staring up at the ceiling as he rubbed his stomach mindlessly. They'd had Chinese and continued on their night routine as if nothing had happened. But it still bugged Jon because not once in the three years that they'd been together did Colby get sick, faint, or stumble as if he was going to. The younger man was always so full of energy, naturally high on life, so he had to ask the question burning in his mind. "Can we talk about what happened earlier?"

Colby looked up from his laptop and took off his glasses once again, eyebrows scrunch up. "Huh?"

"Earlier.. When you were faint on the ground."

"Jon.."

Jon sat up and turned towards his lover, reaching forward to close Colby's laptop and set it aside. "Look, it freaked me out, alright? Not once have I seen you knocked out like that unless you were sleeping. So just tell me what happened. I'm just trying to make sure you're okay and that you're not stressing yourself out over this.. whatever."

"Dissertation."

"That, whatever. Babe, you're the smartest kid in the class. You're probably way ahead of everyone else in there yet you continue to work relentlessly as if you're gonna fail when you know you're not. And look where it's gotten you."

"Jon, I know you're scared, but this is what I've been working for my whole life. I'm only the second person in my family to graduate from graduate school and it's important. You know that. I can't drop the ball now. In two days, I'll have my degree and it'll be over. I can go back to being carefree just how you love."

Still not convinced, Jon shook his head and grabbed Colby's hand, bringing it up to his lips as he sighed softly. "Tell me what happened."

Colby frowned and leaned back against the headboard, shrugging softly. "I was trying to gather everything for dinner when I started feeling a little dizzy. Suddenly, everything started to fade out and my eyes were darkening over. I tried to lean against the counter, but moving just made my head start to pound and before I knew it, I was crashing down to the floor and lights out. Then I came to when you splashed water on my face."

"Has this ever happened before?" When Colby was quiet, Jon straightened his back and stared at his lover, a deep concern written on his face. "Colby."

"I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it so I didn't tell you."

"How many times?"

"Jon."

"How many times, Colby?"

The younger man sighed and bit his lip, shaking his head. "I fainted once at school, but came to a few minutes later. The other time, I was at the park with my brother and nephew."

"Damnit, Colbs."

"Jonathan, I know it's weird and out of the ordinary, but I'm _fine_. I'll be done with school in two days, two days, baby. That's all I need and then I promise I'll go to the doctor if you want me to. But I am not going to throw away over fifteen years of hard work, of waking up every fucking morning to walk to school through rain, hail, or snow to get the education I needed to make it here. This is the rest of my life we're talking about, baby, so please. Please just give me two more days."

Jon shook his head once and rubbed at his forehead, a headache beginning to form. "Fine. Two days. But if this happens again-"

"It won't."

"_If_ it happens again, you're going straight to the doctor, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir.." Colby said in a small voice as he peered at Jon through his eyelashes.

Jon smirked and leaned over to kiss his lover's lips, growling softly. "God, you're so fucking hardheaded."

"I love you, too, baby. I love you, too."


	4. The storm

A week later, Jon and Colby's family were sitting on the front row in a large arena where a graduation ceremony was taking place. Colby had finally graduated school, getting his Masters in business. Jon couldn't be more proud of his lover as he stood and cheered along with his family, whistling loudly and yelling how much he loved the younger man. He could practically see Colby's red face from across the arena, but he didn't care. Snapping pictures and taking pictures of Colby accepting his diploma, all else was forgotten. Nothing else mattered in that moment but this.

The day prior, Jon and Colby had gone to the tattoo parlor and got their matching tattoos done, the date that they made their relationship official, an infinity symbol as a dash, and 'forever' inked around their ring fingers. As Colby said the week before, no, it wasn't a marriage, but each time that Jon looked down at his finger, he knew that this man was his until the end of time and that nothing was going to take him away. Their love was one of a kind, a love that Jon had longed for since the day he left home leaving his homophobic parents behind. They had disowned him when they caught him with another guy in bed and from that day on, he never looked back. But he was missing something and he found that in Colby's love. Pure and raw, beautiful as the day's sun.

"Oh, baby! I'm so proud of you." Colby's mother wrapped her tiny arms around her youngest son, kissing his bearded cheek as tears ran down her face. "My smart boy. Oh, my."

Colby's older brother, Robert chuckled, giving him a one armed hug since Colby's mother still hadn't moved out of the way. "Trust me, she was like that when I graduated, too. Congrats, bro. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Rob, Mom. Means a lot that you guys came." Colby smiled, but there was a strong hint of sadness in his smile as he shuffled his feet, eyes peering up at Jon quickly. "Uh.. Dad..?"

"Baby.. he wanted to come, it's just.."

Colby cut his mother off as he shook his head, waving his hand back and forth. "It's okay, Mom. Don't worry about it. I understand."

Tiny hands rubbed against Colby's tie, more tears falling from the mother's eyes. "You know he loves you."

"He just wishes I was straight."

"His own father left your grandmother for a man. He grew up believing gays were evil, baby. It's going to be hard for him to understand."

"He's a grown man, ma. And I'm his son.." Colby's voice broke, but he shook his head, refusing to cry. This was his day and he wasn't going to let his father's childish antics get in the way of that. Kissing his mother's wet cheek, he moved to greet Jon, giving him a peck on the lips and a big hug. "Thanks for being here, baby."

"Where else would I be?" Jon whispered back, hugging Colby back and kissing his neck softly.

The four of them grabbed a quick lunch before going their separate ways. It was a bit uncomfortable, the air thick over the issues Colby's father had, but no one brought it up. Once Jon and Colby were alone, though, it got better and they decided to spend the rest of the day happy instead of sad or upset over the parents who couldn't accept their children for who they were. The men went for a cruise downtown, buying a few t-shirts and trinkets along the way. Colby began to feel dizzy, but he didn't say anything because he didn't want to ruin the day even more. All week, he'd been having dizzy spells, even threw up a time or two. He put it off as being nervous about his final exam and graduation, but he knew it was much more deeper than that. He was groggy, like he was getting sick, but not the normal kind of _flu_ sick. Still, he wanted everything to die down before he brought up another issue even though he knew Jon would be pissed for not telling him.

That night, after making love two times and falling asleep in each other's arms, Colby climbed out of bed near four in the morning, his stomach feeling as if it was going to explode. His body was hot all over, even as he stood under the air conditioning vent, and he felt as if he couldn't fully catch his breath. Tears of desperation began falling out of his eyes as he leaned against the skin and waited for the spell to go away, but it didn't. Suddenly, he hunched forward and threw up on the ground before turning to the toilet, the fluids continuing to spill from his mouth. When he saw blood mixed in with the bile, he grew hysterical, calling out for Jon in between gags. Jon jumped out of bed in a fright, running over to Colby as he stepped over the gunk on the floor and rubbed his back, asking what was wrong, but Colby couldn't answer. His face was bright red as he continued to throw up, Jon losing his mind not knowing what to do.

Less than ten minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The paramedics sedated Colby because he wouldn't stop crying and his body was shaking, the temperature rising gradually with a high fever. Jon threw on some sweats and a tank along with his house slippers, quickly packing an overnight bag for the two of them because he knew that they were going to hospitalize Colby. Getting in his car, he followed close behind the ambulance as they made it to the hospital and they quickly stabilized Colby and set him up in a room, with promises to return for tests and answers to what was happening. The storm had only just hit the surface.


End file.
